New Orleans-inspired Bananas Foster made with bananas and a caramel rum sauce, ignited, and topped with vanilla ice cream. This 10-minute bananas foster recipe is the secret weapon date night dessert!
What is Bananas Foster?
The story goes during the 1950's in New Orleans, Brennan's restaurant owner, Owen Brennan, tasked his Chef, Paul Blange, to create a dessert using bananas, a locally imported commodity. So he came up with cooked bananas in a caramel rum sauce, ignited it, and topped it with vanilla ice cream. It's such a romantic dessert, no wonder it was born in New Orleans.
Bananas foster ingredients
** See full recipe below
- butter
- dark brown sugar
- vanilla
- pecans
- cinnamon
- bananas (firm, ripe)
- dark rum or bourbon
- banana liqueur
- vanilla ice cream
How to make bananas foster
** See full recipe below
- Melt brown sugar and butter in a skillet on medium heat.
- Add vanilla, pecans, and cinnamon; heat and stir until combined.
- Lay sliced bananas in the caramel sauce and heat a few minutes to soften, turning once.
- Turn off the flame; add alcohol and ignite the sauce with a match. This is the flambe part, so be careful!
- Allow the flame to subside, top with ice cream, and devour!
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Banana flambé
Flambé is an open flame in a skillet which burns off alcohol. This means ALL precautions MUST be taken to avoid injury and prevent fire. As with any cooking activity, your fire extinguisher should be readily accessible.
That said, the magic that occurs from this luscious, skillet-dessert flambé is a rich, rum or bourbon flavored, buttery caramel sauce. It’s pure heaven!
Can you make Bananas Foster ahead of time?
You could make the caramel sauce ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator until needed. However, unless you're hosting an event, I find it just as easy to make the sauce as needed because it comes together in a snap.
You definitely would not want to make the entire Bananas Foster recipe ahead of time because the bananas will not hold up in the storage process after cooking.
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Is Bananas Foster alcoholic?
Great question, right? Since this dessert is cooked so quickly, the alcohol will likely NOT burn off in the same way it does, say, in a simmer sauce.
So, in essence, it probably should be considered an alcoholic dessert if you're toeing the line.
What can you substitute for the alcohol?
Hmmmm, my thinking is this. If you substitute anything for the rum or liqueur in this recipe, you're making Not Bananas Foster. But I certainly won't judge!
But, there is nothing like the flavor of a lightly cooked rum with butter and brown sugar. If you're unable to consume alcohol, you can use apple juice or pineapple juice in place of the alcohol.
Yeah, it won't be much like a traditional bananas foster recipe, but I bet it'll still be good.
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Skillet-style bananas foster recipe
One of my favorite things about this dessert, besides everything, is that it’s served in that cute 5" cast iron skillet, which makes it perfect for one. You can serve bananas foster in any dish other than a skillet, I just have a soft spot for skillet desserts.
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Bananas Foster
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp Butter
- 2 Tbsp Dark Brown Sugar
- 1/8 tsp Vanilla
- 1 Tbsp Pecans chopped
- pinch Cinnamon
- 1 ripe Banana sliced lengthwise
- 1 Tbsp Dark Rum or Bourbon
- 1 Tbsp Banana Liqueur optional
- 1 4 oz scoop Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
Recipe Instructions
- Melt BUTTER in skillet over medium heat; add BROWN SUGAR; stir until dissolved (about 2 min).
- Gently stir in VANILLA, PECANS, and CINNAMON.
- Place BANANAS, sliced side up, in sauce; heat for about two minutes.
- Gently turn bananas over, sliced side down; heat about two more minutes.
- At this point, you can serve it as a non-alcohol dessert with a scoop of ice cream, OR make it banana flambé (with alcohol).
CAUTION: flambé means to “ignite” alcohol, which creates an “open flame”. Please take ALL precautions necessary to prevent injury and fire. To flambé:
- Turn OFF flame under skillet; add RUM and BANANA LIQUEUR to the skillet sauce.
- Using a long, lit match or long lighter, and keeping your body and any clothing away from the skillet, carefully draw the flame close to the sauce surface; it will briefly ignite, so quickly move your hand away from the flame to avoid injury; allow the flame to naturally subside (within a few seconds).
- Serve warm with a scoop of VANILLA BEAN ICE CREAM and a few chopped pecans.
- Please note: this is a single-serve recipe, so be sure to make plenty! 🙂
Nutrition
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I want to try this recipe but have a question on this...how many can be served with this recipe?
Hi Laura, the recipe yields (1) 1-cup serving.
This bananas foster hits the spot every time. It's easy to make and is so good, it makes me look like I know what I'm doing. My kind of recipe!
Yes! This is my kind of review 🙂 Thanks, Jeff!
This recipe is spot on, this has been my favorite forever.
I had it at Brennans once. One of those life altering experiences.
I must say as far as that first paragraph, and also as a bachelor...do you not know the meaning of "Secret"? Aaaaahhhh. i thought this was my secret.
Adam...wow, thanks SO much! Glad to know you're a fan of this too! Yep, the secret is out 🤣
This is such a unique recipe. Cant wait to try this Banana Foster recipe. I love Bananas fried too. Definitely this dish will turn out to be amazing .
Thanks Veena! Yep, when those fried bananas hit the ice cream...heaven! 😉
I never would have thought Bananas Foster was so simple! This is my grandmother's favorite dessert! I can't wait to share this with her, and THANK YOU for sharing! 🙂
Thanks Krista! Hope your grandmother approves 😉
What a delicious recipe. And as you said, it is a perfect date night recipe for sure. I will try this for me and my husband sometime soon.
Thanks Deepika! I think husbands will love this dessert 🙂
Wow, I had no idea that bananas Foster was so easy to make. I guess because it has a fancy name, I always thought it would be more complicated!
Thanks Amy, I think the flambe is what throws people 😉 Hope you love it!
I love a good bananas foster, and this recipe looks great! I can't wait to try this!
Thanks Jessica! Hope you love it like I do 🙂
Bananas Foster! My absolute favorite dessert of all time! And those skillets... I NEED those skillets! Great recipe and I will be making this for sure!
I'm pretty crazy about it myself 😉 Hope you get to make this one!
I just yelled out to my hubby, "I just found a delicious banana foster recipe." He answered with a "Yay." Your recipe looks so delicious and easy! I'll be making your banana foster this weekend for sure!
Aww Elaine, thank you ...I lovvvvve hearing that! You'll love this recipe...so easy and satisfies that comfort food dessert craving 🙂
Such an amazing dessert! Love that they are made in little cast iron skillets!
Thanks Jessica! The skillets definitely make this dessert so much easier (to not share LOL) 😉
Bananas Foster is one of my favorite desserts, yet I do not have a good recipe. This one is perfect! Thanks for sharing!
Awesome Susie! So glad to hear that 🙂
yummy! I would love to try this Bananas Foster Mini Skillet Flambé!
Awesome Priya...hope you get to try it out and love it 🙂
What a cool recipe. I love anything banana and this looks like an interesting one.
Yay Gunjan, love hearing that...thanks! 🙂
I've spent most of my adult life in New Orleans, and one thing I can't ever get over is how delicious - and actually easy! - bananas foster is. Your recipe looks perfect, and it's giving me all the cravings! Also, that orange olive oil cake and chocolate ganache - YUMMY!
Well Jeni, this makes my week! I consider it a complete honor to have someone who's done the time in NOLA pay a compliment like that. Thank you...and lucky YOU! I've wanted to live there for many years!
Bananas foster always makes me drool but I've never had it in a skillet. I bet it's to die for!
Thanks Emily! Yeah, I thought of this a few years back and had to try it! Now, it's the only way I make the dessert 🙂
Already drooling even by looking at this dessert! I don't have small cast iron skillet, but I think I might be able to double the recipe and make it in my 10-inch skillet. Looks absolutely delicious!
Thanks Iryna! Yep, I'd do exactly that if I were you. For this recipe post, I just liked the idea of putting my mini skillets to use, but you can use any size skillet and dish it out into single portions once it's done. Or, eat it straight out of the pan 😉
Flambé sounds like a lot of fun!!
Thanks Sandi...it's fun and delicious! Although in the restaurants, they make it look so much more dramatic...I like to play it safe LOL 🙂
This looks and sounds amazing! I've never had banana foster, but I do have little skillets so obviously it's meant to be!
I really really love your attitude Dana...so cute! I think it is meant to be 😉
Not much can beat a great Banana Foster 🙂
I'm 100% with you on this! In fact, I think I'm gonna make them again over the weekend...been a while 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
Can we just stop and talk about how much I love this idea!! Cuteness and deliciousness and portion control all rolled into one! Brilliant!
You're too sweet! And you totally get me 🙂 Thanks for stopping by and making my day!
I swear I could hear my waistline screaming for mercy right now.. this is such a perfect treat.
Omgosh, me too! My waistline, my booty, my thighs....all of it! But I throw it all out the window for this one any day 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
an impressive dessert! only 10 minutes, that is a good feature too.
Thanks David! It truly looks impressive, but it's so easy. I call this a bachelor's secret weapon 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
Flambe away I say, it always looks so spectacular, a great way to show off and in reality very little danger of spreading fire unless you are super negligent as the flash point of alcohol is so low.
Thanks Brian! Ya, the flame is very low...the only way to play it safe in my book 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
This looks like one of those recipes that is worth breaking the rules for. A lovely mix of ingredients to make a real comforting and treat worthy dessert. What could be better than carmelized brown sugar on banana, with smooth icecream. Blissful.
Honored to hear it, Helen! I'll break ALL the rules for this dessert...it's so crazy good! Thanks for stopping by...and calling it blissful 🙂